Are Catholics helping fuel the rise of Newt Gingrich? He swept Catholic Votes online Thanksgiving Straw Poll of Catholic voters with 44 percent out of over 13,000 votes cast. Santorum came in second with 14 percent and Mitt Romney placed third with 10 percent. Anecdotal as it may be, its clear that lots of Catholics like Newt. Why?

For one, he is Catholic, having converted in 2009. He subsequently produced a documentary of Pope John Paul IIs battle with Communism in Poland, Nine Days that Changed the World, that has been well received by Catholics. That documentary first put Gingrich back on my and many other Catholics radar. He highlighted what he learned from the experience of producing Nine Days in his speech to the annual Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, DC, which is well attended by Catholics active in politics and probably garnered him more good will.

To the fact that Gingrich has re-married twice, as part of his coming into the church he went through the annulment process and as a result of those findings is validly married in the eyes of the church. This may not impress those who do not like or understand the churchs annulment process, but it does give Catholics who wish to forgive Gingrich his previous infidelities some evidence that he has attempted to make right. Catholics, as often as they encounter scandal and disappointment in their elected leaders, want to hope that forgiveness and conversion is possible, too.

My priest,through his homilies and their hidden messages of economic fairness and social justice, has pretty much endorsed Obama along with any other big government politician. It is terrible when a priest leads his flock astray from the narrow path towards heaven. Your priest will have to either make amends prior, or account for his actions before the gates of heaven.

Divorce has nothing to do with conversion to any religion. Marriage involves the law in whatever State or Country you were married in. Divorce is civil law. Church law may differ as the Catholics maintain but has absolutely nothing to do with being converted otherwise there would be one hell of a empty Catholic congregation. Yes, I did say hell!!!! Sinners confess and are forgiven as in any religion except maybe Muslim. Muslims would just cut off your head.

He’s still married to wife number 1, whether he likes that or not. If he sincerely wished to repent of his sin of adultery, he would return to her, instead of trying to seek blessings for his earlier behaviour.

I admit to being biased on this because I’m pro-Gingrich, but are you aware that his first wife was his high school geometry teacher who he married when he was 19. I’m not on any diocesan tribunal and I’m suspicious of the entire process these days but I’m willing to give the tribunal the benefit of the doubt at least on marriage number one.

Look at their accomplishments. Newt allied himself with Ronald Reagan to build the Reagan Coalition, the Religious Right, and the Republican majority (together the Reagan Revolution) which directly led the downfall of the Soviet Union, the Contract with America, government reforms, less government, tax cuts, a balanced budget, and the great, long-standing Reagan economy.

Romney, on the other hand, vehemently denied Ronald Reagan and aligned himself with Ted Kennedy and the left. Romney accomplished installing liberal big government programs, defended and promoted Roe v Wade and legalized abortion as settled law, advocated and implemented RomneyCare with its liberty killing government mandates against formerly free citizens and its taxpayer funded or subsidized and mandated abortion procedures. He ran and governed to the left of Ted Kennedy on the gay agenda resulting in gay marriage in Massachusetts. He appointed liberal judges and liberal appointees throughout his government. Under his leadership conservatism and the Republican party was all but destroyed in Massachusetts.

Romney is one evil liberal progressive. No way in hell will MittBots be allowed to support this abortionist, big government, socialist scumbag on FR!

Guess my message isnt clear enough. I have to keep repeating it and zotting would be MittBots.

I can’t imagine that he was allowed to marry Callista in the Church... much less ENTER the Church without having everything from his past cleared up. If it’s true that his first marriage is valid and undissolved then I am truly appalled (but maybe not as surprised as I should be).

Both Newt’s marriages were annulled. The second was annulled on the grounds that the first one hadn’t been annulled when the second one was contracted. Don’t know about the grounds for the first one, but a relationship that started with a 16-yo boy dating his 24-yo math teacher certainly has the potential for some questions to be asked.

17
posted on 12/17/2011 3:22:01 PM PST
by Campion
("It is in the religion of ignorance that tyranny begins." -- Franklin)

Just because he was a Presbyterian and then a Southern Baptist doesn’t automatically indicate he was Baptized. It’s not at all uncommon for unbaptized catechumens to be received into the Church from the various denominations at the Easter Vigil along with baptized candidates.

“Mr. Gingrich was confirmed into the church on Sunday at St. Josephs Catholic Church on Capitol Hill and celebrated that night, according to The Hill, with friends at Cafe Milano, one of Washingtons most insider-y dining establishments. His guests included Cardinal McCarrick, the retired Cardinal of Washington.”

See, I was correct. You are mistaken. Newt was confirmed into the Catholic church. He was not baptised Catholic. Same as me. That makes sense.

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